First Columbus, then break: Niemi in net, McLellan’s longevity mark, where players are heading — and a memorial service for Sharks scout

SAN JOSE — Antti Niemi gets the start in net tonight as the Sharks try to go into the Olympic break on a modest two-game win streak.

But anybody who thinks the Columbus Blue Jackets are an easy mark hasn’t been paying attention lately AND has memory issues.

Columbus did drop a 2-1 overtime decision in Los Angeles on Thursday night, but had won its three previous games and has gone 12-4-1 since January 1. And don’t even bring up last season, when the Blue Jackets swept three-games from San Jose by a collective 14-5 margin.

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The Blue Jackets are the only team San Jose hasn’t faced yet this season, and the rematch is March 13 at Nationwide Arena.

****It was an optional skate this morning, so no solid information on how the lines will shape up without Matt Nieto, who won’t be in the lineup after blocking that shot at the end of the second period Wednesday night. But Marty Havlat was wearing the white jersey signifying a Top Six spot and John McCarthy is up from Worcester for a bottom six role. It’s just a question of who fits where.

Todd McLellan did say that Jason Demers will be back in the lineup unless the training staff says there’s still a risk his lower body injury (groin pull, in this case) is at risk of a setback.

McLellan’s accomplishment and his thoughts on setting the new standard were the subject of the online story I filed earlier and available here .

****This, of course, is the final game before the Sharks scatter for the 20-day Olympic break. We all know where Joe Pavelski, Patrick Marleau, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Antti Niemi are going. But what about everybody else. A random survey:

“We’re going to take the kids to Disneyland,” Dan Boyle said, “and then we’re going to do some relaxation time – we’re taking the kids though, so I don’t know how relaxing it’ll be. Cabo – it’s not set in stone yet, but the Disneyland thing is.”

First time for Disneyland?

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“First time, yeah. I’ve been avoiding it for five years now,” he said. “I don’t know that they’re ready – the five-year-old’s ready, the 3-year-old might be a little interesting. I haven’t had a break like this in a long time. We better take advantage of it.”

If Boyle does get to Cabo San Lucas, he may run into Andrew Desjardins and his wife as well as Tommy Wingels and his fiancee. Desjardins was also planning to visit with family and friends in Palm Springs before heading back to San Jose, while Wingels was going to his hometown of Chicago.

Logan Couture said he was heading back to London, Ontario to spend time with his family. Matt Irwin, too, was going straight back to his hometown of Victoria, B.C.

Others? Justin Braun and his fiancee are heading to Wine Country while Brad Stuart is staying home.

So how long does Stuart plan to stay away from all things hockey-related?

“Probably about two days maybe,” he said. “Then I’ve got to stay in shape and workout. The kids will be in school so I’ll have time to do that sort of thing.”

****Finally, there was a gathering of NHL scouts in Boston earlier this week to pay tribute to one of their own, a memorial service for Sharks scout Jack Gardiner, who died Jan. 12 after a long bout with cancer.

Sharks director of scouting Tim Burke said about two-thirds of the NHL teams were represented at the event held just before opening night of the Beanpot college tournament in Boston on Monday night.

Among the current players Burke credited Gardiner with bringing to the team’s attention: Justin Braun and Matt Nieto.

David Pollak

David Pollak has been following the NHL forever and at the Mercury News as an editor or reporter since 1987. For almost a decade he wrote about the Sharks as the paper's Fan in the Stands before joining the sports department in 2001. He became the Sharks beat writer before the 2007-08 season and began this blog at that time. You can also follow him on Twitter at @PollakOnSharks.

I agree. And also, puns aside, last nights game was a lot of p(h)un. But my main feeling is that the biggest difference between last night and the Edmonton game is that the Sharks got some luck. McCarthy’s goal being exhibit A. But Marleau’s goal was also a deflection that wasn’t obvious until reviewed, at first it was given to Hannan. But in both those games the Sharks dominated, with different results. And Niemi could have been better. Going from memory, but I thought the second BJ goal was stoppable.

N05tradumba55

I really think he’s what’s needed on the 2nd PP Line. Then again I admit to being a broken record on this topic. Plays, imo, like Joe T – digs the puck off the boards, protects it + handles the puck really well and sets teammates up with great scoring chances.

N05tradumba55

Who were the three stars of the game?

ZEKE

If I ever bump into TMc or the asst coaches, I’ll ask the question. People tend not to break with ‘how its been done’. One other aspect that comes into play — teams don’t see much 6 on 4 during the year so its unlikely they practice for that. And if they don’t practice it, they probably won’t try it ‘on the fly’.

renoshark

His game has elevated. I agree with TMac that Sheppard is playing “desperate”. He seems like he’s playing for his job, which essentially is what he’s doing. Keep playing like he has and he’ll keep a spot on this team. Our lines will be changing big time with Kennedy, Raffi and Couture returning, which means Kearns, McCarthy and probably Nieto will be sent back down.

GP_hockeyhappens

3 — McCarthy
2 — Bobrovsky
1 — Wingels

N05tradumba55

10 Q

John Mango

Totally agree. May be surprising to many, but most closest Shark comparison to Shep is Jumbo. Both have size, good hands, are strong on pucks, win puck battles using their bodies and possess very good passing skills. Now, Jumbo’s a HOF player and Shep is just trying to make the team, but if Shep gains confidence I think he could be a heck of a player for the Sharks for years to come.

It cannot be overstated how important these next few months are for Shep’s career, and here’s to hoping he proves successful for his sake and for our beloved team.

Buddy Elf

Couldn’t work pungent in myself, wanted to… nice job.

Phat Stat Phil

x2.

I used to complain that Nabby didn’t do enough with the puck. He rarely did more than stop the puck for a defenseman or clear it to the corner.

When Niemi came to play for us, I realized just how good we’d had it.

Phat Stat Phil

I don’t know if I’d say that qualifies as “better athlete” — to me that implies conditioning.

But that said, Stalock is much better with handling the puck and he’s starting to see the game a lot better. He had one up ice pass that started an offensive zone chance and put Columbus on their heels.